“After 39 years, I’m closing my workshop” — Elaine (71) is selling her last Kitty Lamps at a special price. Her most-loved design is retiring.

In an old boat shed on the Nova Scotia coast, Elaine Doucette has made unusual lamps for almost four decades – every one painted by hand, every one a little work of art. Now the 71-year-old is stopping. And she is saying goodbye with her biggest success: the Kitty Lamp. Why is this little glowing cat suddenly so wanted? Because this is the last time it will ever be offered.

Mahone Bay, October. The old boat shed on the harbour smells of paint, warm solder and wood smoke from the little iron stove in the corner. Through the window you can see red maple trees and the water beyond. The shelves are full of cat sketches, lamp bases and half-finished cats – some still bare, some already painted with tiny faces, green eyes and bright blue and amber panels. On the big table sit fine brushes, a soldering iron and a box of small warm-white lights. Elaine leans over one of her last lamps, the way she has done every morning since 1986. But this year is different. This is her last Christmas collection.

“I’m 71,” she says quietly. “My hands just don’t want to do it anymore. The joints ache, and the arthritis is worse every winter.” She rubs her fingers. Decades of fine work have left their mark. “But that’s not the only reason. The world has changed. Hardly anyone pays for real handwork now. Everything is mass-made. My way of working is slowly disappearing.”

39 years, over 14,000 lamps – a life spent bringing warm light into long winter evenings

Elaine has done the math. In 39 years she has designed, painted and finished more than 14,000 lamps. Every single one went through her hands. “At first it was simple table lamps for the craft fairs,” she says. “Then people started asking for something special – something with a little soul. Up here it’s dark by half past four in December. People wanted a light that feels like company. That’s how the Kitty Lamp was born: a lamp that doesn’t just give light, but looks like a little cat quietly keeping watch over the room.”

What makes Elaine’s Kitty Lamps so special

It isn’t only the calm, almost tender look on the little cat’s face. It’s the way each lamp is built: like a small sculpture of light, made to be used every day – not something off a conveyor belt.

Inside sits a warm-white LED. It is placed so the light glows softly through the coloured panels of the cat’s body and tail, without ever blinding you. The deep blue, amber and gold panels are framed by dark lines, just like a church window. The bright green eyes shine out of the dark face, so the cat seems to look right at you. Each Kitty Lamp sits steady on its own base, on a bedside table, windowsill or bookshelf. It plugs into any USB charger or port, and a little switch on the cord turns it on and off.

The result is a lamp that does more than “on” and “off.” It turns a corner of the room into a calm, warm favourite spot – and for many families, the little cat has become the night light that gets the kids through the long, dark winter nights.

“Some of my customers have had their kitty on the windowsill for over 15 winters”

Elaine pulls an old cookie tin out from under the workbench. Inside are hundreds of letters and cards. “These are thank-you notes from customers. Some have written to me for decades,” she says. She takes out a card dated 2008. It reads: “Dear Elaine, your cat lamp has been on my windowsill for years now. Every evening when the snow starts, I switch it on and make a cup of tea – and it still glows as warm and lovely as the first day.”

There is a simple reason for this: care instead of speed. Big factories are built for volume. Elaine works one piece at a time. A Kitty Lamp takes many hours – from the first sketch, to painting every panel, to fitting the light and the final check.

The end of an era – and one last chance

Just before Christmas, Elaine will close her workshop for good. “There’s no one to take over. Nobody wants to learn this kind of work anymore – it takes years before you really have it in your hands.” Around 470 Kitty Lamps are still lined up on her shelves. Her life’s work. The last collection that will ever pass through her hands.

To make sure they go to good homes before the workshop closes, she has made an unusual decision: a clear special price on every lamp. “It’s not about the money anymore. I want my cats to sit in living rooms, bedrooms and kids’ rooms where people really love them. With people who understand how much work goes into a piece like this,” Elaine says. “My grandkids Hailey (22) and Owen (25) are helping me sell them online – at my age I have no idea how all that internet business works,” she adds with a laugh.

Owen also came up with the name. “He said the little cat looks like a kitty keeping watch by the window while the snow comes down – a glowing friend that makes a long winter evening feel calm,” Elaine says. The name stuck. And for many customers, a simple table lamp became a much-loved evening ritual: switch on the light, take a deep breath, and end the day in the company of a softly glowing cat.

What sets Elaine’s Kitty Lamps apart:

• Made in Elaine’s workshop: Every Kitty Lamp is painted, assembled and checked one by one – no mass production, no conveyor belt.
• Soft, warm-white light: A quality LED inside gives a gentle light that is easy on the eyes – perfect for the bedside table, the kids’ room or the reading chair.
• Built to last: A sturdy body, a steady base and a neat cord with its own switch – made for many years of daily use.
• Night light instead of harsh glare: The Kitty Lamp glows softly without blinding – ideal for falling asleep, for a late cup of tea or as an accent light on a dark winter evening.
• Simple to use: Plug it into any USB charger or port, flip the little switch, done. No bulbs to change, no fiddly wiring.
• Limited: Only around 470 Kitty Lamps left from Elaine’s final collection – when they’re gone, there will be no more.

What real customers say about the Kitty Lamp

• ★★★★★

  “I never thought such a small lamp could change a room like this! When I switch the Kitty Lamp on in the evening, my living room turns into a calm little island. The light is warm and the cat looks so peaceful – I often just sit and look at it for a minute.”

  – Darlene L., 58, Moncton, New Brunswick
• ★★★★★

  “I work long shifts and in winter I leave and come home in the dark. Since the Kitty Lamp has been on my dresser, I actually look forward to switching it on. No glaring ceiling light, just a soft, calming glow. Perfect for winding down.”

  – Amanda B., 39, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
• ★★★★★

  “I was worried it would just be cheap junk – but I’m completely won over. It feels well made, stands steady and the light is lovely and warm. In the evening it really does look like a little cat keeping watch over the room.”

  – Carole D., 65, Kingston, Ontario
• ★★★★★

  “My son fell in love with it right away. He calls it ‘our goodnight kitty.’ Every evening he switches it on himself before we read a story. Bedtime has been so much calmer since. You can tell a lot of love went into it.”

  – Ryan K., 42, Guelph, Ontario

“The perfect gift for the people you really love”

Her customer Tammy R. (49) from Antigonish agrees: “I gave my mom a Kitty Lamp for her bedside table last Christmas. She had tears in her eyes – not because of the lamp itself, but because she could feel right away how much love and work had gone into it. Now she switches on the kitty every night, reads a few pages and says: you can’t put a price on that feeling of calm.”

Where can you buy Elaine’s Kitty Lamp?

Elaine’s Kitty Lamp is only available through Cedar & Tin – an online shop that specializes in real handwork from selected makers. Her grandkids Hailey and Owen run Elaine’s own little corner of the shop there. Only there will you get the original Kitty Lamps from her workshop. Similar-looking lamps from mass production have started to show up on Amazon and other big sites. At first glance they may look alike, but they have nothing to do with Elaine’s work.

Only until Christmas – then it’s over

Elaine plans to close her workshop for good just before Christmas. “By then I’d like every Kitty Lamp to have found a good home. After that, it really is the end,” she says quietly. She gives a wistful smile. “39 years. It’s been a wonderful time.”

If you would like one of the original Kitty Lamps from Elaine’s final collection, don’t wait too long. With the special price and so much demand before Christmas, the remaining stock is not expected to last.

It is the last chance to bring a piece of real handwork into your home – before Elaine’s glowing cats are gone for good.

The verdict

The Kitty Lamp is the lamp people fall in love with. It is made by hand in Elaine’s workshop and feels like a small, glowing place of calm for your home – with warm light that makes the bedside table, the kids’ room or the reading chair instantly more peaceful on a long winter evening.

A feel-good piece with real heart – lovingly designed, well made, thought through – and every time a small moment of magic when the Kitty Lamp starts to glow at dusk. Thank you, Elaine!

Everyone is talking about the Kitty Lamp

• ★★★★★

  “It makes me sad that makers like Elaine are dying out and hardly anyone values their work anymore. I ordered two Kitty Lamps right away – one for our bedroom, one for my parents. We all love them, especially in the evening when only the kitty is glowing and the whole room feels calm and warm.”

  – The Tremblay family, Winnipeg, Manitoba
• ★★★★★

  “I love the look on its face – the Kitty Lamp really does seem to watch over everything. The warm light is so soft, no flickery cold LED. It’s part of our winter routine now: light on, blanket out, wind down.”

  – Laura S., Halifax, Nova Scotia
• ★★★★★

  “Our reading corner used to be just a corner. Since the Kitty Lamp moved in, every visitor stops and asks about it. My kids call it ‘our light kitty’ and want to switch it on themselves every evening.”

  – Jess P., Kelowna, British Columbia
• ★★★★★

  “So much charm – we’ve never had a lamp like it! When it gets dark outside and only the Kitty Lamp is glowing, it feels like it’s quietly watching over our home.”

  – Maria K., Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
• ★★★★★

  “Bought one for my grandma’s 80th. She’s had cats all her life and now she says she has one again that never needs feeding. It sits on her windowsill and the neighbours wave at it.”

  – Kayla G., Red Deer, Alberta